Is Round Rock One of the Most Expensive Cities to Move to?

Is Round Rock One of the Most Expensive Cities to Move to? A recent article was published stating that Round Rock was. We wanted to understand what exactly this meant…..

Is Round Rock One of the Most Expensive Cities to Move to?

USA Today recently published an article on the Top 25 Most Expensive Cities to Move to and Austin-Round Rock made the list. Number 12 to be exact. On this list, Orlando – Kissimmee – Sanford, FL was #25 and San Francisco – Oakland – Hayward, CA was #1.

On a list filled with Florida and California cities, why is Round Rock called out? And what exactly does it mean to be “expensive to move to?” Being a Round Rock native for the last 10 years, I don’t think it’s expensive to live here at all. In fact, when I talk to friends and family who live in cities all across the country, when we compare cost of living, Round Rock always comes out on top.

But notice the article states cities that are “expensive to move to.” And knowing that we are a rapidly growing city, maybe it is a bigger expense to move here than I thought.

So let’s break it down, shall we?

As the article states, “24/7 Wall Street reviewed average moving costs and average first month’s rents and security deposits in America’s 100 largest metro areas to determine the 25 most expensive cities to move to.”

Here are the numbers they are listing for Round Rock:

Austin-Round Rock, Texas

Avg. total moving cost: $4,154 (#1 is $5,661)

1st month’s rent and deposit: $2,890 (#1 is $4,330)

Median household income: $60,939 (#1 is $87,701)

Population change from migration (2010-2017): 13.3% (#1 is 4.9%)

And here’s how they got to these numbers:

24/7 Wall Street determined the 25 cities with the highest moving costs by combining the median price of one month’s rent plus a security deposit and the estimated moving cost to the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. The rent is for a three-bedroom housing unit, and the security deposit is equivalent to one month’s rent. The estimated moving cost is within the most populated zip code in the principal city of each metro area.

Some interesting things to note – the national median household income is $55,322 a year, while we in Round Rock are higher at $60,939, making it an attractive place to live. And the population change in Round Rock is fairly high at 13.3% (national average is 2.2%).